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JD Supra Ireland

Publisher:: JD Supra
Publication date:: 2019-04-29

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Ireland Supreme Court Analyzes Disability Accommodation Requirements
On July 31, 2019, in the case of Nano Nagle School v Daly, the Supreme Court of Ireland delivered its decision in a long-running disability discrimination lawsuit between a paraplegic special needs assistant (“SNA”) and the school that ended her employment based on her disability. The Court’s decision provides a thoughtful analysis of an employer’s obligations to accommodate a disability and an interesting comparison to the approach under American law.
ESMA Consults on UCITS Performance Fees – Key Considerations for Irish UCITS
ESMA published a consultation (the “Consultation”) on draft guidelines for UCITS performance fees (the “Draft Guidelines”) on the 16 July 2019. The objective of the Consultation is to obtain stakeholder feedback on the Guidelines in five principle areas, namely:  1. performance fee calculation methodologies; 2. consistency between performance fee calculation models and investment objectives, strategies and policies; 3. frequency of crystallization; 4. negative performance (loss) recovery; and 5. disclosure of performance fee models in fund documents.  The Draft Guidelines will apply to UCITS in Ireland charging a performance fee.  ESMA is also seeking stakeholder feedback on whether the Draft Guidelines should be extended to apply to AIFs and will consider responses to the Consultation submitted before the deadline of 31 October 2019.  The Consultation is published at a time of increased investor awareness and greater demand for transparency of performance-based fee models and follows a number of reviews conducted by various regulators including IOSCO, ESMA and the Central Bank of Ireland...  Please see full Publication below for more information.
Central Bank of Ireland’s Thematic Review on Closet Indexing: A Shot Across the Bows for UCITS Boards?
The Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) on 18 July 2019 published a ‘Dear Chair’ letter to the industry (the “Industry Letter”) highlighting the key supervisory issues identified in a thematic review of Irish domiciled UCITS investment funds (“UCITS”) on the subject of closet indexing (the “Review”), and setting out certain actions to be taken to mitigate any concerns.  While no findings of closet indexing were made, the Industry Letter cites instances of poor governance and control by boards where investors were not given sufficient or accurate information in the prospectus or key investor information documents (“KIIDs”) and a number of other transparency issues and sets out actions that boards should take to address these concerns...  Please see full Publication below for more information.
The Central Bank of Ireland Industry Letter: Fund Liquidity Management
On 7 August 2019, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) issued an industry letter (the “Industry Letter”) regarding the importance of ongoing, effective liquidity management and ensuring compliance with relevant legislation and regulatory obligations for UCITS1 and AIFs.
Newsflash: The Central Bank of Ireland updates its website guidance on UCITS financial indices
On 23 July 2019, the Central Bank of Ireland (the “Central Bank”) revised its guidance on UCITS Financial Indices (“Guidance”), clarifying the circumstances where an index certification is now not required.
Littler Global Guide - Ireland - Q2 2019
Changes to Immigration Law Help Address Skills Shortages -  New Legislation Enacted -  Three recent developments in the area of corporate immigration will improve access for foreign workers to the Irish labor market. These developments include changes to the list of occupations deemed as critical to the Irish economy and will help to address skills shortages in certain industry sectors, including construction and sports.
Financial Services Quarterly Report - Second Quarter 2019: Gender Diversity in Asset Management – Does it Make Business Sense?
The Irish Government recently commissioned a report on gender balance in Irish businesses (Report)1, prepared by the review group Balance for Better Business2. The Report found that in a country where, in 2019, just one in nine chief executives (12%) of enterprises with at least 250 employees is a woman, the percentage of women on the boards of Irish-listed companies remains significantly lower than in other EU Member States. The Report’s recommendations are a shot across the bow for Irish-listed companies. Stopping short of calling for gender quotas, the Report instead puts forward the following robust targets for Irish companies...
A Full House: Proposed Update to Investment Limited Partnership Structure to Further Enhance Ireland’s Alternative Fund Offering
On 20 June, 2019, Ireland’s government released its proposed Investment Limited Partnerships (Amendment) Bill 2019 (the “Bill”) that will update the Investment Limited Partnership (“ILP”) structure.
Mind The Gap: Ireland Takes Steps Towards Mandatory Pay Data Reporting
The Irish government is making pay equity a priority and is looking to join the trend of other countries across the world requiring employers’ regular reporting of wages. The lower house of the Irish legislature recently published a bill that, if passed this year, would require certain employers in Ireland to report gender pay data as soon as 2020.
Irish Data Protection Commission Clarifies: GDPR Does Not Preclude Communion Photos
The GDPR that stole communion…  Some schools in Ireland have been banning photographs at communion, citing GDPR.  The Irish Data Protection Commission clarified in a guidance titled “Taking Photos at School Events: Where Common Sense Comes Into Play” that this is not mandated by GDPR.